December 19, 2018

Events

7:00 PM

Padre Q&A with Giada Colegrande and Willem Dafoe

December 19, 2018

Drama / 2016 / 90 minutes

Italian filmmaker/performance artist Giada Colagrande made a name for herself with her 2002 debut Open My Heart, and her latest effort Padre is a worthy entry in what is becoming an impressive oeuvre. Drawn from the writer-director-star’s dreams, Padre tells the impressionistic story of a woman (Colagrande herself) who is taken on an odyssey of mourning and spiritual awakening when she finds herself haunted – both literally and figuratively – by the ghost of her recently deceased artist father. It’s a loose, languid narrative that relies on visuals and emotions more than straightforward plotting, effectively charting a living conversation about death, grief and the afterlife without approaching the subject from any one religious or philosophical perspective. Also along for the ride are Willem Dafoe – the auteur’s real-life husband – co-starring as an artist who assists in bringing Colagrande’s exploration of the metaphysical to life via theatrical stage pieces, and performance artist Marina Abramovic as the protagonist’s absentee mother.

9:00 PM

Open My Heart Introduction by Giada Colgrande

December 19, 2018

Drama / 2002 / 93 minutes

To call Giada Colagrande’s first narrative feature – 2002’s Open My Heart – audacious would be something of an understatement. Tackling heavy cultural taboos right out of the gate, the fearless Italian filmmaker’s story centers on a 17 year-old – played by Colagrande herself – living as a captive of her prostitute sister (Natalie Cristiani) who also fulfills the roles of mother and lover, a dynamic complicated when the younger woman falls in love with a dance school caretaker (Claudio Bostosso). Setting the film in only two locations, Colagrande keeps the illicit scenes of incest and sexual manipulation up close and firmly rooted in the psychological, deftly weaving in elements of film noir while never losing sight of the film’s chief concern – to honestly explore the depths of obsession and the darkest corners of human nature.

7:30 PM

Bob Wilson: The Life And Death Of Marina Abramovic Q&A

December 20, 2018

Documentary / 2012 / 58 minutes

After several successful narrative forays, Giada Colagrande returns to her documentarian roots with Bob Wilson’s Life and Death of Marina Abramovic, a behind-the-scenes look at the Bob Wilson musical theater piece The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic. Attempting to illuminate the process of artistic collaboration, Colagrande’s film is a straightforward look at the stage piece, a highly stylized eulogy/biography of Abramovic – an icon in the performance art community – as envisioned by Wilson, himself a legend of avant-garde theater. Added to the collaborative stew are the songs of Antony Hegarty as well as the acting talents of Colagrande’s husband and sometime collaborator Willem Dafoe – who provides stage narration for Wilson’s piece – all of which the director captures with slick but unobtrusive digital camerawork courtesy of Tommaso Bergstrom.

9:00 PM

A Woman – Introduction by Giada Colgrande

December 20, 2018

Drama / 2010 / 100 minutes

Filmmaker/performance artist Giada Colagrande continues to explore her chief artistic predilections – namely death and obsession – with her 2010 effort A Woman. This time handing off the lead role to the capable Jess Weixler, Colagrande’s third narrative feature centers on a young woman who, after falling in love with a famous novelist (Golagrande’s husband Willem Dafoe) and following him to his home in Italy, finds herself obsessed with the novelist’s dead wife. The low-fi digital camera work of Tommaso Bergstrom keeps the drama intimate and tight, allowing the leads to deliver strong performances set against the evocative landscape of the Italian countryside. An effective psychodrama that compares favorably to some of David Lynch’s latter avant-garde efforts – fitting as frequent Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti provides the film’s haunting score.